List of Mennonites living outside the Molotschna Colony in 1852
compiled by the Molotschna Mennonite District Office

As found in the records of the Guardianship Committee for
Foreign Settlers in South Russia
(Fund 6, Inventory 3, File 15751)
in the Odessa Region State Archives, Odessa, Ukraine

Translated by Mennonite Heritage Centre volunteer Ed Enns, Winnipeg, Manitoba (October, 2002);
edited by , Portland, Oregon (April, 2003)

Explanatory comments by Tim Janzen:

This document was compiled to provide information to the Guardianship Committee about all Mennonites from the Molotschna Colony who were living elsewhere in 1852. File 15751, in which this document is found on pages 135 to 152, contains similar lists for many of the German colonies located throughout South Russia, including the Chortitza and Bergthal Colonies. In this translation the names of the Mennonites are shown with exactly the same spelling as they appear in the original document. The names of locations and of non-Mennonite people are translated to their most common modern forms. The words wife, son, and daughter have been abbreviated as "w", "s", and "d", respectively. A column has been added on the right hand side of the translation that includes the number in the Grandma 4 database for each head of household who can be identified in that database.

Much insight into the initial dispersal of Mennonites from the Molotschna Colony to other locations, particularly those Mennonites who moved to Berdyansk, can be obtained by reviewing this list. However, it should be noted as explained in the comment below that many of the people stated to have moved to Berdyansk in 1852 may well have actually lived there for a number of years prior to 1852 and some had been living there since 1840. While many of these people were living outside of the Molotschna Colony at the time the 1850 Molotschna Colony Census was taken, this document reveals that they were listed in that census in their home village in the Molotschna Colony where they (or in a few cases, their parents) originally came from.

The original document from which this translation was made may be found on microfilm at the following archives: the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies, Fresno, California; the Center for Mennonite Studies, Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas; the Mennonite Historical Society of British Columbia, Abbotsford, British Columbia; and the Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Download GEDCOM file of families from this file.

The following introductory letter appears at the beginning of the list on page 135 in the original document:

Molotschna Mennonite District Office
village of Halbstadt
10 January 1853
Document No. 147

20 January 1853

To the office of the Guardianship Committee for Foreign Settlers in South Russia

The report from 5 d 116 under subordinate No. 36, sent to the highly esteemed Guardianship Committee, did not include the list of the residents living outside [the colony] encompassing the year 1852. This district office takes the privilege to herewith quite humbly send it to the different government offices of the highly esteemed Guardianship Committee for Foreign Settlers.

Signatures:

District Chairman - D. Janzen
District Assistant - Joh. Wiens
District Assistant - Peter Wiebe
District Secretary - Reimer

The following explanation appears at the end of the list on pages 151 and 152 in the original document:

Note: Mennonites living in Berdyansk, some having lived there since 1840, have been under their own management with a director under the jurisdiction of the district office. They have been without passports because the distance from the colonies was short. On the basis of passport regulations and in accordance with instructions from the Guardianship Committee for Foreign Settlers, under Regulation No. 7808, dated October 15, 1851, passports have begun to be issued in 1852 for those living in Berdyansk and thus are only listed as absent as of this year.

Signatures:

District Chairman - David Jansen
District Assistant - Joh. Wiens
District Assistant - Peter Wiebe
District Secretary - Reimer

Recorded January 10, 1853

Created 17 June 2003; HTML by Richard D. Thiessen

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